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Friday, December 06, 2013

JEFF BALLARD TRIO WITH LIONEL LOUEKE & MIGUEL ZENON - TIME'S TALES

Drummer
and composer Jeff Ballard makes his long overdue, much anticipated debut as a
leader with the diverse and wide-ranging Time's Tales. A master of the trio
format who anchors the renowned Brad Mehldau trio and is one-third of the
inventive collective group FLY with Larry Grenadier and Mark Turner, Ballard
here documents his own longstanding trio with guitarist Lionel Loueke and
saxophonist Miguel Zenón.

With
sounds ranging from forward-looking modern jazz to traditional African and
Latin rhythms to heavy metal intensity, Time's Tales reflects the Jeff Ballard
Trio's adventurous, multi-faceted identity, which has been honed on stages
around the world since its formation in 2006. A landmark release in its own
right, the album also arrives just as Ballard is celebrating an important
benchmark in his own life, his 50th birthday.

"I'm
getting into the middle of my years. So I think recording this project, with
this band, makes a meaningful statement. It's a telling of my times up until
this point."

A
multi-faceted drummer with a keen interest in rhythms from Africa and Latin
America, Ballard could have found no better partners for this endeavor than the
Benin-born Loueke and Puerto Rico native Zenón. The two have imbibed the
rhythms of their homelands and incorporated them into their own expansive sonic
palettes, making them ideal foils for Ballard's polyrhythmic approach.

"It's
where we meet, for sure," Ballard says. "Their sophistication and
awareness of rhythm is so high. Lionel's listening to three different rhythms
at the same time; Miguel can hear everything. I pick up something melodically
from what they're playing and put it on the drums, and they do the
reverse."

That
relationship is evident right out of the gate on their buoyant, joyful take on
Loueke's "Virgin Forest," which leaps off from a funky
African-inspired groove in 9/4. Equally bursting with electricity is the
leader's "Beat Street," which begins as a lively parade march in a
New Orleans vein, but takes a few unexpected detours along the way.

Zenón
provided the arrangement for Silvio Rodriguez's bolero "El Reperador de
Sueños," which boasts a subtly modernized take on the original's Cuban
rhythms, inspiring a sinuous, impassioned solo from the saxophonist.

The trio
does not restrict itself solely to the expected sources for its repertoire,
however. The moody "Dal (A Rhythm Song)" is adapted from Hungarian
composer Béla Bártok's "44 Duos for Two Violins," and showcases
Ballard's most coloristic playing as he crafts an atmospheric environment
surrounding the intricate dialogue between Loueke and Zenón.

Most
surprising of all, however, is the trio's hyper-muscular cover of "Hangin'
Tree" by the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Loueke suddenly
channels the distorted ferocity of Jimi Hendrix on the track, revealing chops
that haven't come much into play since his early days playing in rock bands
back in Benin.

"That's
totally me," laughs Ballard about the unexpected choice. "I love that
band and I love that vibe. I like so many different kinds of music and I can
access a lot of stuff, so that diversity is really starting to come out
now."

In
contrast, the trio plays at its most tender and traditional on their airy
ballad treatment of the Gershwin standard "The Man I Love." As
Ballard says, "One might think that musicians from Benin and from Puerto
Rico would play this song with a foreign-sounding influence, bending the song
into another cultural jacket. But that's not the case - instead, one can hear
these musicians' deep knowledge and respectful embrace of the American music
tradition. This is a wonderful example of how diverse cultural borders can meet
and disappear completely within an embrace."

The
trio's inventiveness is highlighted on the two free improvisations, one a brief
interlude and the other a glimpse into the future of this still-evolving group
that ends the album with a gaze at the horizon of possibility. That vast
potential is also clear on the unusual "Western Wren," which uses a
National Geographic-recorded bird call, transcribed by guitar great Steve
Cardenas, to instigate a round robin of darting, eccentric improvisation. The
piece is never played the same way twice, but prompts a look to nature for
improvisation, as on the fluttering wings of Ballard's brushes or the echoing
forest calls of Loueke's guitar.

Ballard
met Loueke while playing with trumpeter Avishai Cohen, and knew Zenón from
their work together in Argentinean pianist Guillermo Klein's Los Guachos
ensemble. He immediately recognized the potential of their combination. "I
have a huge love and affection for the music of Africa, particularly West Africa,
and of South America," Ballard says.

"Even
when I'm playing jazz, there's a percussive sensibility coming from Africa and
South America; I have a natural affinity for that. So having Lionel and Miguel
play with me made a lot of sense because of where they're from and the way they
play." In the years since, the trio has carved out its own unique sound,
melding the free-floating malleability of the classic Paul Motian, Bill Frisell
and Joe Lovano trio with the global rhythmic approaches culled from their varied
backgrounds.

Both of
Ballard's bandmates are among the most innovative and acclaimed musicians on
the scene today. Loueke was mentored by Herbie Hancock and Terence Blanchard,
and has worked with legends like Jack DeJohnette and Charlie Haden as well as
peers such as Gretchen Parlato, Esperanza Spalding, and Robert Glasper. Zenón
is a Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow who has forged a distinctive blend of jazz
and Latin American folkloric music. He's also a founding member of the SFJAZZ
Collective and has worked with the likes of Bobby Hutcherson, Fred Hersch,
David Sánchez, and Steve Coleman.

Born in
Newport Beach, California, Jeff Ballard moved to New York after a three-year
stint with the legendary Ray Charles, where he immediately began building a
diverse resume with artists including Lou Donaldson, Buddy Montgomery, Kurt
Rosenwinkel, and Mike Stern. In the late '90s he became a part of the Danilo
Pérez Trio and Chick Corea's New Trio and Origin, and later joined Joshua
Redman's groove-oriented Elastic Band. In 2003, Ballard formed the collective
trio FLY with Larry Grenadier and Mark Turner, which has since released three
critically acclaimed recordings.

Since
2005 he has been the drummer for the Brad Mehldau Trio, one of the most
renowned groups in modern jazz. In addition to his trio, Ballard leads the
ensemble Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds, which exists as a quintet featuring Eddie
Henderson, Kevin Hays, Jeff Parker and Grenadier, and as a quartet with Loueke,
pianist Tigran Hamasyan, and The Bad Plus bassist Reid Anderson on electronics.